HAPPINESS CAN BE CONTROLLED

InSpired

HAPPINESS IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL

Reaction and response to issues and your thoughts   determine your feelings per time. When you  release positive feelings on an issue, happiness is birthed but if you choose to release a negative response to an event then sorrow is the result.

 Happiness or Sadness is all about reactions, responses; It means it can be managed. If you guide your  responses to things based on the stipulations of scriptural provision, you can keep sadness away at all times and serve the LORD' s purpose in this generation with joy and happiness.

People have pre-grammed data stored in their minds on how to cope with various issues that occur in their life- time. These information are cumulated over time from experiences, cultural beliefs, books and exposures etc.

For King David, disappointments always birthed a New Psalm. He pours out his negative feelings through his writing.

Some Psalms reveals that David was not so easy on his enemies  ( Psalm 109, Psalm 5) while other Psalm reveals that he had learnt to praise God in difficult times..  (Psalm 3, Psalm 7). And when David was happy, such as Pslam 8, 18 were birthed. When he was grateful, (Pslam 100-104 ) reflected his thoughts.

Singing and writing was David's way of expressing the tumult in his Soul. The Scriptures advises on what our reaction should be on different circumstances that may present itself.

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

 IS ANYONE HAPPY? LET THEM SING SONGS OF PRAISE.

 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord" James 5;13-14

Happiness has a voice and a  face, it has an atmosphere, it can be seen and touched and it flows from the soul. The soul is the seat of both sorrow and happiness, you determine which river flows out of you.

"Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter?" James 3:11

King Solomon on the other hand dealt with the vacuum in his soul  by giving himself to pleasure, wine, projects  and of course more women.  Yet he was not happy, the fear of dying and leaving all his achievements behind plagued his soul. ( The Book of Eccl.)

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 

“Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?”

 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly —my mind still guiding me with wisdom. 

I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ..... 

I bought male and female slaves .........I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.

 I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart.

 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.

 My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Eccl 2.

Leah is happy whenever she does or achieve anything that she felt will  make her husband love her.

She did not discover  what makes her husband truly happy , she assumed giving him sons would make him happy yet after four sons, the attention and heart  of  Jacob was not solely hers.

Then she resolved to make God her Source of true happiness.

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. Genesis 29:35

We must make God our Source of true happiness. God has given us joy as a gift but we must also learn to make Him the source of our happiness.

A.L Hephzibah.